PVAMU/XULA/BCM Summer Prostate Cancer Research Program
Abstract
Students at small colleges including many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) institutions rarely have access to the advanced research facilities and translational research programs including prostate cancer research that are critical for preparing students for careers in biomedical research. Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is particularly well positioned to provide a summer research and training experience that will complement programs on home campuses to prepare students for graduate school in biomedical sciences and to interest them in research careers in prostate cancer. BCM has more than 15 independently funded investigators working on prostate cancer and a nationally renowned summer research program for undergraduates. The SMART (Summer Medical and Research Training) program provides seminars and workshops in addition to a 9-week research experience. Importantly, trainees are housed in Rice University dormitories within walking distance to the medical center. Consequently, although students do pay for housing, they do not have to find housing on their own. We have had previous training programs through this funding mechanism in collaboration with Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), which is less than a 90-minute drive from BCM. In this application, we propose to expand to include students from Xavier University in Louisiana (XULA) as well. XULA has a history of sending students to graduate school in the sciences. Thus, we will expand the pool of student applicants from which we can select students who are most likely to be interested in considering a career in prostate cancer research. The goals of the program are to provide the background and research experience in prostate cancer to interest the students in a career in prostate cancer research and to enhance their skills so they will be competitive for Ph.D. graduate training programs. These goals are achieved through multiple forms of mentoring during the summer and continuing into the academic year, a 9-week research program with one-on-one mentoring in the laboratory, seminars in a wide variety of topics, and a weekly seminar/discussion hour devoted specifically to a wide range of prostate cancer topics. The research projects are designed not only to develop skills with state-of-the-art equipment, but to teach the students how to ask and answer questions, to interpret data, to troubleshoot, and to determine the next step in the project. At BCM, the training program is overseen by the Principal Investigator, Dr. Nancy Weigel and the SMART program director, Dr. Gayle Slaughter, both of whom have extensive experience in mentoring minority students and undergraduates in general in summer programs. The program has 15 strong mentors, all of whom work in prostate cancer and all of whom are funded, although some have other research interests as well. The research interests are very diverse and range from androgen receptor function, to signaling, transgenic models, immunology, metabolomics, drug screening, high-throughput microscopy, health disparities, and many other areas. Thus, the students will receive specialized training in one area in their laboratories, but will be exposed to a broad range of approaches to prostate cancer in the seminars and discussions. These groups are small (<12), so the students generally spend extra time in informal discussions with the presenter. The students are also participants in the SMART program and attend the daily noon seminars on a variety of research topics including additional seminars on cancer and prostate cancer. They also are encouraged to participate in workshops on abstract writing, graduate school applications, presentations and a GRE (Graduate Review Exam) Prep workshop. Trainees will be recruited through advertising and in person presentations by BCM faculty and HBCU advisors. Applicants will be interviewed by HBCU advisors and participants chosen jointly by BCM faculty and HBCU advisor
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510677
Entities
People
- Nancy Weigel
Organizations
- Baylor College of Medicine
- United States Army